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Zidane, Tantalus Thief

Legendary Creature — Human Mutant Scout

When Zidane enters, gain control of target creature an opponent controls until end of turn. Untap it. It gains lifelink and haste until end of turn.
Whenever an opponent gains control of a permanent from you, you create a Treasure token.

CMC
5
Mana cost
{3}{R}{W}
Color identity
RW
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Final Fantasy
Price
$0.19
EDHREC rank
#9030
Buy on TCGplayer
Zidane, Tantalus Thief card art
Zidane, Tantalus Thief turns every enters-the-battlefield trigger into a theft opportunity, and in permanent-swap shells like Confusion in the Ranks it generates value so fast opponents lose track of what they own. The catch is that Zidane demands a dedicated build — outside of exchange-focused decks or Iroh, Tea Master lists that weaponize gifting, it's a 3/3 that does nothing.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Iroh, Tea Master

Iroh, Tea Master

76.7% of decks · synergy 0.75

Iroh, Tea Master is the primary home for Zidane, Tantalus Thief — Iroh actively wants to hand permanents to opponents and draw cards doing it, and Zidane converts each of those gifts into a potential steal, creating a loop where generosity and theft feed the same engine.

02
Zedruu the Greathearted

Zedruu the Greathearted

31.0% of decks · synergy 0.30

Zedruu the Greathearted donates permanents for value and Zidane, Tantalus Thief sits on the other side of that transaction, letting you claw things back whenever a new permanent crosses the table.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is the only format where Zidane, Tantalus Thief is genuinely threatening — multiplayer boards are crowded with ETB triggers, and a theft effect that fires repeatedly without targeting is hard to play around at a four-person table. In one-on-one formats like Legacy, Modern, or Pioneer, the card is too slow and too conditional; a 3/3 for three that needs a stream of opponent ETBs to do anything meaningful doesn't compete with those format's threats. Standard and Oathbreaker are technically legal homes, but the same problem applies — the payoff scales with chaos, and those formats don't supply it reliably.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.19 bulk tier

At $0.19, Zidane, Tantalus Thief is deep bulk, which is appropriate for a card with a narrow, archetype-dependent role. It will hold that floor as long as Iroh, Tea Master keeps it in demand, but don't expect movement — this is a one-deck card at a one-deck price.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.